FANS of the Miami Heat are not alone in celebrating their team's triumph in the National Basketball Association Finals last month.

For among those toasting the Heat's success is Bermuda's Department of Tourism ? which this year became a co-sponsor of the fledgling team.

"It's 'outside the box' thinking, the likes of which we haven't seen previously," said Wayne Smith, director of the Bermuda Alliance for Tourism.

"I've been to the American Airlines Arena in Miami and seen the Bermuda banners across the stadium. There was excellent exposure for Bermuda."

The move ? criticised at one point as extravagant and excessive ? now appears to be paying unexpected dividends. This season, the colourful Bermuda Tourism logo was as recognisable a fixture on the Heat's court as the estimable Shaquille O'Neal.

The already prominent exposure enjoyed by Bermuda was magnified tenfold when the Heat's successful playoff bid culminated in a spot in the NBA Finals with rival team Dallas Mavericks last month.

None could have been more pleased with this result than the Tourism Minister himself. Indeed, sports enthusiast Dr. Ewart Brown not only predicted that the Heat would reach the Finals but would win them by four games to two. He was right on both counts.

It's unlikely, however, that the Ministry's decision to sponsor the team was influenced by Dr. Brown's basketball expertise as much as his astute marketing instincts.

Indeed, the sponsorship was timed to coincide with the new American Airlines flight to the city. Miami was targeted for the prized younger demographic the island's tourism bosses are eager to capture. It is part of a broader shift, observers claim, away from Bermuda's more conservative image of yore.

Throughout their successful season, fans of the Miami Heat have been treated to Bermuda-themed half-time shows which have featured Bermuda shorts fashion shows, as well as promotional "dance-offs" with the winners awarded vacations in Bermuda.